


Being Ryuu

by IslitaBonita



Category: Naruto
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, Reincarnation, Strong Haruno Sakura
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-09-29 00:06:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17192753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IslitaBonita/pseuds/IslitaBonita
Summary: Ryuu Uchiha was a good shinobi,a front line fighter who lived during the clan wars. When Ryuu is reborn as Sakura Haruno, a civilian, she had one goal : get her Sharingan back.





	1. Chapter 1

Ryuu Uchiha has no god. The Sage of the Six Paths was family after all, the Uchiha clan his direct descendants. The Uchiha were superior to all.

**XxX**

His daughter was blind. Even though she spent a lot of her time babbling around, her eyes were always calm, moving but unseeing. The doctors tried to reassure him at first, her eyes were after all perfectly healthy. Chakra block, one of them said. And with that Shin went to the iryo-nin of Konoha.

**XxX**

Ryuu's fate was made before she was born. Her father had wanted a boy, and so like a boy she was treated. As "a boy" from the Uchiha clan she was to be a shinobi. And as a shinobi she was to be killed (not that she remembered that).

But between her first training at 3 years old and her death a lot passed. A lifetime you could say.

**XxX**

As the son of a blacksmith he often went to Konoha. However, it was the first time that he went to the hospital (there was no need of an hospital for a small village like his). If the outside of the building presented a strict and calm feeling, the inside was frenetic. You could see the medics going left and right, always moving, always healing, never stopping. Their eyes were a paradox, clouded and keen, anxious and calm. Sometimes they would stop as a sharp sound will resonate, all tension will live their body, eyes will be cleared, but only for a heartbeat. Then they would begin again, always moving, head injuries before broken bones, left to right, bleeding before burning, never stopping.

**XxX**

Ryuu could say that her life began when she received her Sharingan. But she was a living, breathing thing before that, and as such you would want to know what she was like.

Before her Sharingan, Ryuu had been average, not good, but the "could kill some Senjus and last long enough to come back and be healed" average. But as an Uchiha Ryuu could not be average, as an important Uchiha, Ryuu was to be the best. Needless to say, it couldn't always be like that. Her taijutsu was good, above average, but there wasn't any strength, and her ninjutsu consisted only of her clan technique that she learned since she could walk. There was something missing. Ryuu needed to be completed. Her Sharingan, her precious and lovely red eyes, did that. So Ryuu lived.

**XxX**

The man in front of him was tall, taller than him by a few inches. His eyes were as black as an Uchiha and his brown hair was restrained in a humble bun. He looked very feminine for the trait of his face were delicate. He would have been very handsome and easily forgettable … if a long scar did not run over his jaw. It started from his right ear and finished his course in the centre of his shin. It was a smooth straight line, made in one swift, without hesitation.

" Yamamoko Iroua. Are you Haruno-san?"

So, trusting, Shin gave him his beautiful daughter.

**XxX**

Ryuu liked to think that she had been respected. The true was a bit more complicated. As a woman, the other girls stared with awe and confusion. As a warrior, the other shinobi's eyes were trusting and afraid. As a Sharingan wielder, her father was proud. As a genjutsu master, they glanced at her twice.

Genjustu was something that the Sharingan was good at, the natural ability to control someone and their excellent eye sight let every Uchiha able to be better than the rest of the world. The rest of the clan was happy with that, there was no need to go farther. But in genjutsu Ryuu saw her purpose. And while they were happy with _being better_ , she became the best. Able to trap squadron of ninja with genjutsu that seemed so _real_ , Ryuu had been feared and adored in the battlefield.

The problem came when her genjutsu _healed_.

**XxX**

"…She wasn't born like that, you know. That's why I still have hope. When she didn't cry at birth the doctor panicked and pushed chakra on her system, as it's used to do. They don't really know what happened, afterwards, just that her chakra began to move on its own. They are civilian doctors and don't really understand chakra, only the procedure. So here I am."

Shin didn't know if the doctor was listening. His hand glowing a soft pale green, the same shade as his daughter's eyes. Black onyx orbs met his.

"Move on its own?"

"That's what they told me." Shin didn't understand, wasn't everyone able to do that? Even he, a simple civilian could instinctually move his chakra (not that it would bring any result).

"A new-born chakra is too weak for that; the vessels are still too new. But… you daughter's chakra seems to be digging new vessels."

**XxX**

She remembered the first time that she "died". It had been on accident that she "survived". Her genjutsu always seemed so _real_ and sometimes she was sure that she saw some cuts. Her mind supplied that it was impossible, but her pride cheered of her. What could go wrong ? Stop the pain from going to her brain? She refused to die here. She refused to die.

_Izanagi_

That's what she had called it. Her sacrifice, her _creation_. Ryuu had lost one eye, but she became one of the _gods._

**XxX**

The iryo-nin eyes were wide open, focused on his daughter with a strange glint in them. He didn't seem to sense Shin uneasiness and continued to talk.

"… I have never seen something like this! I don't know what it's doing, there a mix of healing chakra and something else in there. This creation of vessel is something that you see during pregnancy! I"

Needless to say, that Shin and his daughter came every week to the hospital.

**XxX**

Ryuu lived as a goodness among the Uchiha. She had been revered and her prowess in battle had been song at every victory. But she hadn't been satisfied. She was missing an eye after all, she wanted it back. They proposed theirs, ready to let it out of their sockets for her but she was above that. Then _he_ died and they turned toward her. Couldn't she bring him back? Bring them all back? Gone was the awe. They wanted it, her Sharingan, even though it was as red as theirs, his two tomoe circling always moving. She had to close another eye, this time, but her Sharingan would still be here when she will come back.

XxX

At five years old, Sakura Haruno stared at her reflection, her blindness finally gone. Her pink hair, her fair skin but green eyes. A tear fell from her eye before rage overcame her features. She swore revenge.

_I will have them back._

**Hi! So, I came back with this story. I really waited a long time because I wasn't sure so tell me what you think! I just want to say that Sakura won't be overpowered, as you saw Ryuu had been perfectly normal before having the Sharingan (I really see it as a cheat trick ^^'). Even with the Sharingan, you only see the POV of Ryuu on her own life and being an Uchiha she was sure to be prideful, even more before Konoha. Also for those who see my other story, I try my best to keep to different Sakuras, this one being Ryuu in her mind so older than normal, also being an Uchiha and motivated by anger. This Sakura will be ambitious, manipulative and power hungry. So if you see some similarities between the two tell me ! I would be really happy to hear from you !**


	2. Potential

Ryuu stared at herself in the mirror. Of course, she knew that something was wrong when she woke up years ago, surrounded by blurry faces and unknown voices. Her first mistake had been to try to activate her Sharingan. The undeveloped chakra system of this body couldn’t stand this and, even though she succeeded in moving the chakra, the body blocked her sight. For years now, she had been plunged in darkness, her chakra flowing unwillingly in her eyes, preventing her from seeing anything.

Her chakra concentrating in her eyes, her body being at best sluggish only let her one last option: negotiating. Ryuu yelled. Her mouth distorted her words. What was a speech became babbling. And between all of this was Ryuu, angry, frustrated and scarred. All her emotions were highlighted and without knowing, she cried. Then _he_ came.

 _He_ took her calmly in his arms. _His_ voice was serene, _his_ body warm. Without understanding Ryuu could only bask in _him_. Maybe she died, she thought this day, and _he_ was her reward for all those years killing Senjus. _He_ was always by her side, nursing her. Every time that she couldn’t sense him near, she lost all sanity. Because if she lost him then she would be all alone in this pitch black that was her view, unable to move. It would be like death.

There was only one problem in this “afterlife”: _he_ insisted on calling her by another’s name.

If her first day in this “life” was frightening, then “this” was torture. Sometimes she would ignore what _he_ would say, _his_ impossible stories about peace or this so hated name of hers. Others she would get angry, her mind screaming ‘ _I’m Ryuu ! My name is Ryuu ! Let me go !’_ , but as she grow those moments became few and far between. Now, after four years resisting, she could only smile, beg _him_ to call her _that_ , trying with all her might to forget being Ryuu, all the blood, the Sharingan, the Uchiha and only be his daughter. ‘ _I love you Tou-san !’_

But today was different. She could _see_. Her long elegant black hair was lost, replaced by silly bubble-gum locks. Her body was weak, ‘ _the body of a civilian’_. Her hands were soft without any scar from blister. The skin was light and rosy, far from her tanned by the sun and scared one. The face was still round with baby fat and her lips a lovely red. Ryuu’s face have been angular with high cheekbones, pulpy lips. The words were her pale green eyes, horrendous in comparison with the onyx color of the Uchiha’s.

Still staring at those eyes, Ryuu slowly moved her chakra. Her vision became blurry with emotions when she felt it obey her will. Ignoring her trembling body, she patiently made it flow to her eyes. The familiar maze of chakra vessels gave her hope. ‘ _Maybe ...’_ A sharp pain on her head interrupted her concentration. Seeing no results in her vision she pushed, again and again. The pain became unbearable, the tremors of her body more and more intense. Finally, the tears came. Then the anger. Without thinking she punched the mirror, her mouth let a desperate roar.’ _My Sharingan ! Give it back!’_

When _he_ came running to her, panicked, taking her in _his_ arms, she felt nothing. She found no warm in his embrace for she couldn’t just ignore the truth anymore. At this moment, Sakura promised herself that she would all take it back. ‘ _My hair, my body, my name, my Sharingan ‘_. One day, she would go back to being Ryuu.

“Sakura ! Talk to me ! Help ! I need help ! Sakura ! ”

 

XxX

" I can't explain what I don't understand Shin ! " Iroua snapped.

He really wanted to help the man in front of him, but the doctor was as lost as him. Sakura, who they had thought to be a lost cause, not only recovered her sight but also acquired what seemed to be complete control of her chakra. He looked at the girl in front of him. She had always looked calm and collected even with her blindness but now, it couldn't stand looking in her eyes, they seemed so mature and looked so much older than what a 5 years old should possessed.

" There are news chakra vessels behind her eyes, but we had already known that for years. Her chakra flows freely now that it's not working in her eyes and there seems to be an imbalance between her physical and spiritual chakra but nothing dangerous. Really Shin, I'm sorry but there is nothing else I can do. "

Shin looked lost, and Iroua couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. He woke up to find his daughter screaming like a banshee and she ends up h in a coma caused by chakra exhaustion only to be told that there is no explanation. He was exhausted. There was dark circle under his eyes, and he looked so much older and tired. He was sitting with Sakura in his lap. They looked a lot alike, even if Shin's hair was a light brown and his skin was darker. In his arms Sakura looked so breakable and so weak with her light skin and pink hair, her hard and serious eyes contrasted with the fragile picture.

" The best for her would be to go to the Academy, they would train her to control her chakra so her blindness couldn't happen again. She doesn’t need to fight, she would join the genin corps. Once she had graduated genin I can take her as my apprentice, she must have some sort of talents to be able to use chakra like that at her age. " recommended Iroua.

Before Shin could respond his daughter interrupted him.

" I want to go to the Academy."

The medic tried to hide his astonishment, but he could feel the slight widening of his eyes. Sakura rarely talked, even less when not asked a question and never asked for anything. But judging by her determined eyes, she had already made her decision. Iroua very much doubted that she agreed with his idea to become a medic-nin. There was a dangerous glint in her eyes, and for a second Iroua regretted telling them about the Academy. Then it disappeared and the doctor felt ridiculous for his train of thoughts. Sakura was only a child after all.

**XxX**

 

She had to see them. It was her family after all, she had the right. Of course, she knew that her surname was now Haruno, but her essence was still Ryuu. _He_ had told her about the Uchiha, it seemed that her clan was still alive and living in the same village as her.It was strange to her, this concept of village, of peace and Hokage. She didn’t know if she liked it or not, her father seemed to think that war was a horrible state of life. She doubted it, wars were what made Ryuu. If there was no war, then what would become of her? What could she do, marry? No, she preferred to be in the battle front, thank you very much.

Despite its state of peace, Konoha seemed to still need its warriors. Shinobi were everywhere she looked. What could they do if not kill? Her _Tou-san_ seemed to think that they protected the merchant from bandits. ‘ _The times have changed.’_ And because Konoha was protected by its shinobi, Sakura was free to wander alone in the streets of the city. It didn’t take her long to find the path toward the Uchiha compound. Their chakra called to her like moth to the flame. It was warm and slow, a sulfuric smell around it that warned you of the danger. It was from this lava in the dead of their stomach that spurred their legendary flames.

She stared at the front gates, not knowing what to do. She couldn’t enter, not with this appearance but her reserve of chakra was too weak to change. _‘civilian’_.

“Hey you ! What are you doing here ?” yelled a voice down the street.

Ryuu rolled her eyes, who was yelling in the street like that? Couldn’t they see that she was occupied? She stared at the boy. Two big pools of black glared back. It was a small child, surely no older than her. Behind him stood a teenager, long black hair cascading down his back, his expression neutral but eyes serious. ‘ _Now that is an Uchiha !’_

 

Still staring at the older brother, she answered the child.

“I’m lost.”

Her answer didn’t seem to please him because he started screeching about how she must have been following his older brother. She ignored him. She was basking in his older brother chakra. Having enough the teenager just went on the gates, totally ignoring the pinkette.

“Otouto.”He said, looking back.

“But nii-san ?” At the dark look of brother, her stopped. Throwing her a last dark look in warning he followed his brother.

But Ryuu wasn’t finished. One day she will cross those gates, her head held high, crimson in her eyes. It wasn’t the time, she knew, but she could at least warn them. She smirked. She flared her chakra.

The teenager stopped immediately. It was the same after all. He stared back, impassive but she could see a flicker of surprise. Feeling the adrenalin in her veins chakra automatically flowed to her eyes. _There._ All smirk disappeared from her face as she felt the _pulse_ from her eyes. A relaxed smile apparated on her lips. She disappeared from Itachi sight.

 

She had her answer. It was far and so very _faint_ , but it was _there_. There was potential and Ryuu would do her best to speed it up.

 


	3. Peace

Things have changed.

 

This village, Konoha, was running high with life. The laughter of the children running around her, the chatter of their mother accompanying them and the soft sound of the shinobis jumping from roof to roof.  

 

Ryuu was walking down the busy streets of the village, her green eyes absorbing every information that her mind could contain. The smells of the different restaurants surrounded her, transported by the soft breeze, flowing with her long hair.

 

The sunlight caressed her body, like a soft embrace, warming her skin. She closed her eyes, absorbing the sensations, tattooing them in her mind. Peace, she thought, was like a genjutsu. Seconds stretching indefinitely, time passing so slowly yet always so short. Ryuu didn’t fight for peace, the notion had never entered her mind, a thought that she never entertained. After killing the Senjus, they would have gone for the Hyuga, after them the… She didn’t fight to survive nor to protect. Ryuu have fought because she could.

 

Peace was like fighting. A strange moment in time where everything stopped and accelerated. But while peace roused you to sleep, the moment where she entered a battlefield Ryuu was never more awake. Thinking of those good times made a soft smile appear in her innocent features.

 

Then they stopped. Her hand still in _his_ hold, she stared at her father.

 

“We are here, Sasa.”

 

 _His_ hold was strong, fearing of letting her go. _His_ palm was calloused from crafting weapons, the callouses were a familiar sensation but at the wrong places. _His_ hand always exuded warmth as he just left the forge, even warmer than the sun on her skin.

 

After an exchange of words, Sakura let her father’s hand go.

 

XxX

 

Ryuu had made a bit of an entrance to her class. Someone entering at the middle of the year was strange after all, it being a civilian was stranger. She had been stared at all the way to the classroom. Wisper and gossips jumping around her head. The pinkette didn’t pay them any mind. Rumors have always surrounded her.

 

“… We have a new student today! Naruto sit down ! This is Haruno Sakura, she will join our class from now on !”

 

Ryuu stared at the classroom, it was full of approximately thirty kids, all staring at her. She recognized easily the numerous clan kids around her: Yamanaka, Hyuuga, etc. The civilian born were a minority and Ryuu wondered how well they faired. Ryuu’s body had been created to fight, born out generations and generations of soldiers, the Sage of sixth path’s blood run through her veins. Sakura was none of that. Without her sight it had been difficult to train, her father’s eyes always on her. While Ryuu’s had killed, at the same age Sakura’s hands have never held a weapon. Right now, she was surely the weakest kid in this classroom.

 

Slowly, she moved to the front row and took a sit next to the Hyuga girl, who tensed. Ryuu send her a look and the girl seemed to curl up, her face going red.

 

“A-Ano. I-I am…”

 

But Ryuu wasn’t listening.

 

Iruka, as she learned that he was called, told them the story of the founding of Konoha. Ryuu couldn’t understand what she was hearing. In this time as she has never heard of them, she though the Senju were exterminated. In her fantasy it had been their death that had permitted peace to prosper. Ryuu didn’t really care about the last part, it was more Senjus being dead that had given her joy. And yet this wasn’t was happened. No, the Uchiha and the Senju proclaimed peace. To be more precise, _Madara_ did it. Ryuu gritted her teeth.

 

The rat ! The traitor ! Liar !

 

Fury was blooming in her, chakra blocked in her stomach unable to vent via her eyes.

 

_She found them a few second after the explosion. Even with the smoke still floating around and only one eye, Ryuu recognized the body. Body taking its last breath, he perseverated, trying to convey his last word. Ryuu was instantly at his side._

_“Promise me…t-to never trust them again. Promise me to kill every last one of them. P-promise me!” his voice was erratic, urging for the promise to be made. “Brother, t-take my eye and Ryuu…”_

_She didn’t wait for him to finish._

 

XxX

 

Konoha was full of life.

 

Their eyes were dark, almost unseeing. Their skin was wrinkled, blue and green veins visible. Their back was crouched as unable to support their own weight. Or maybe it was time pressing against their body? Hair as white as snow, slowly losing its colors. Ryuu stared in awe at the elders of the village. How long could a human live? The pinkette watched a woman slowly walking down the street. A cane in one hand helping her in shaky steps and a bag full of groceries in the other. How old could she be ? 50 ? maybe even 6-

 

“Hey you ! Don’t you see that I need some help ?” yelled the lady. Her voice was strange, some sort of accent that she never heard before but shared by some other elders. Was it something gained by age ?

 

Sakura looked around, was she talking about her ?

 

“Yes I’m talking to you ! Come help me you brat !”

 

Slowly, Ryuu approached her.

 

“Why will you need my help ?” she asked, genuinely surprised. “ To live as long as you do, you must be the strongest of them all.”

 

Ryuu could recognize a shinobi when she saw one. Even with the weight of her groceries and the cane, her steps were silent. Even half blind her eyes were lucid. Callouses on her fingers and scars on her hands. Warm chakra around her person, fire nature. The lady was an Uchiha, Ryuu could recognize family as easily as shinobi.

 

“ Didn’t you parents teach you some manners ?” The Uchiha raged. Her cane hit Ryuu two times on the head, fast, while not too harsh, it wasn’t gentle either. “Stop asking question and take my bag !” Without more, she gave the heavy bag to Ryuu and continued to walk.

 

The pinkette let a soft gasp as she fell under its weight, her head hurting. Now irritated, Ryuu felt her chakra boiling in her stomach.

 

“Now listen your old-“

 

“What are you waiting for ? It’s getting dark, we need to get back to the compound.”

 

 _Compound ?_ What the hell was she talking about ? Then it clicked. The old Uchiha was almost blind, obviously relying on her chakra to navigate herself.  Did she tough Sakura was one of them ? Their chakras were almost the same after all. Red came to her cheeks. Silently she followed, chakra flowing in her arms to hold the groceries.

 

The Uchiha “stared” at her for a few seconds before walking again, not saying anything

 

“How old are you Uchiha-sama ?” The woman showed that she should be respected after all.

 

The cane hit her two time on her head. Again.

 

“ Learn some manners ! You don’t ask those question of a lady.”

 

Ryuu was confused.

 

“You’re a shinobi.”

 

This time she could avoid the first hit, but the cane hit her hand instead.

 

“Doesn’t mean I’m not still a woman!”

 

Now irritated Ryuu walked in silence.

 

“ You got good chakra control, kiddo. Parents made your learn early ?”

 

Sakura did not answer and continued to walk two steps ahead. The cane hit again.

 

“ When an elder speak to you, you answer, you hear me ? Really kids those days …. What’s your name again ?”

 

Sure that not answering will get her kick again and letting the woman alone wasn’t an option, Ryuu had to answer. Yet, Sakura couldn’t bring herself to, answering will mean acknowledging that she wasn’t an Uchiha after all.

 

“We are here, shinobi-sama.”

 

It wasn’t really truth. There were at the entrance of the compound but with her bright hair Sakura couldn’t enter.

 

The elder watched her, eyes still unseeing but lucid, assessing her. With a humph the Uchiha took easily the heavy bag and started walking, letting Sakura behind. The limp of her left leg has disappeared, and the bag seemed weightless in her hold.

 

Ryuu watched her go, her throat dry.

 

XxX

 

“You can start!”

 

Ryuu stared at her opponent.  Short black hair, lavender eyes, Hyuuga. The posture of her opponent was hesitant, obviously not wanting to hurt her. Sakura’s eyes were narrowed in anger. The Hyuuga used Konoha’s standard fighting form, an insult in Ryuu’s eyes. Konoha’s standard fighting form have been made to teach the civilian born like herself. Made to suit everyone, nobody could really pull it off. Even if the forms were taught to every student, nobody expected the clan’s kid to use them in spars. For the Hyuuga to do that meant that she wanted to give Sakura a chance to win. She thought her weak.

 

Taking the Uchiha’s form, Ryuu attacked.

 

The Uchiha were not close-range fighter, relying heavily on their Sharingan and large chakra reserve, ninjutsu were their weapon of choice. If an Uchiha was close, then he would deliver the killing blow; if you cornered him, you should expect fire. They mainly fought with their legs keeping their hands free for a justu and distance themselves again.

 

Ryuu, even if a genjutsu user first and foremost, have always been good at taijustu. Of course, Sakura could never compare to an Hyuga. Their body were created to close range, theirs hands often their only weapon and their body a fortress, untouchable. If an Uchiha would kick and jump, the Hyuga was steady, his body straight, arms deflecting any entry. But Sakura wasn’t Ryuu, her body too weak now to jump or empower her legs, form too stiff to raise her legs like she wanted too.

 

It all ended with one punch.

 

It was easily that the other girl blocked Sakura’s weak punch. Letting Sakura’s own movement opening her defense, the Hyuga only had to let her arm fly. Open palm connecting effortlessly with Ryuu’s stomach.

 

Even without chakra the gentle fist _hurts_. Sakura’s body went down. Holding her stomach, she vomited on the side. Tears were forming in her eyes, from the shame or the pain she couldn’t know.

 

“A-ano I’m sorry Sakura-san ! A-Are you a-al”

 

She stopped at her glare.

 

“Never feel sorry for taking down an opponent.” Sakura sneered.

 

Iruka-sensei did not pair Sakura and Hinata again that year.

 

XxX

 

“Are you sure Sasa ?” _his_ voice was warm even if a little hesitant. “You have your mother’s hair; it would be a waste to cut it.”

 

Sakura hesitated. Her _mother_ was never talked about in their house. Dying in childbirth, the woman was obviously _his_ first and only love that _he_ still grieved today. Ryuu couldn’t care less, _he_ was enough trouble, her feelings in _his_ regard still confusing for her, she couldn’t imagine if another non-Uchiha was thrown into the mix. Sakura was also happy to have the entirety of _his_ attention, no siblings or other family members (at least in Konoha) to share _him_ with.

 

Watching _him_ in the mirror, she could see how tenderly _his_ tanned hands caressed the pinks strands. The contrast between their skin was jarring, hers a pale rose, burning instead or tanning like her _father_ ’s or Ryuu’s. Pale skin now adorning a beautiful array of bruises. They didn’t look alike; she was all soft and pale like nobility while _he_ could easily pass as a ninja. A part a her, would have liked to look more like him and less the ghost of her _mother_. Unfortunately for _him_ , Sakura shared _his_ eyes, only a few shades lighter than the original.

 

Ryuu could have forgiven the hair, the civilian body and even her stupid name if only the Sharingan would have stayed with her. It would have been easy to love _him_ entirely if _his_ eyes were not a reminder of what she has lost. Blurring the two emeralds in her mind, she focused at the grease between _his_ bushy eyebrows. _He_ was worried for her.

 

Sakura relaxed her features and gave _him_ a small smile (it was harder for her to smile for _him_ or even stare at _his_ face since she could see _him_ ).

 

“It’s a tradition in some clans, I read about it at the Academy. Your hair should be as long as your victories, for only those who are strong could be allowed such a weakness as long hair.”

 

“But Sasa, you’re only at the Academy and not of any clan, you’re not obligated to do that.”

_His_ voice was as warm as _his_ hands still in her hair, comforting. There wasn’t any reprobation, her _father_ was after all a practical man, hair didn’t mean much for _him_. _He_ wanted just to make sure that she had a choice. It warmed her heart.

 

“One day, I will be a clan and every clan need traditions.”

 

Seeing her motivation, no more questions was asked and only the sound of the scissors could be heard in their bathroom. Even as an Haruno, Ryuu would always follow her traditions.

 

XxX

 

_“Ryuu? What happened! Y-Your hair!”_

_The little girl just continued to cry on the floor. Detached strands of tick black hair were running down her back, her shoulders and face. Her breath was erratic, big tears full of hair leaked down, irritating her skin and leaving it red. It was pretty ugly sight one that he couldn’t reconcile with the pretty girl of this morning.  It was when he put his hands on her back that his cousin quieted down. The tremors against his hand stopped._

_“I lost.” Her voice was crackly from crying and she could still remember the shame as she fell down._

_Then he understood._

_Rumors around the clan has it that her father lost his mind after the death of his wife. Izuna heard his father say that Ichiro was angrier about his inability to produce a true heir to the clan. That Ryuu became a shinobi was now his only goal. Ryuu was good, Izuna could admit that without losing his pride, but she was still a girl. She could never awaken her Sharingan or lead the clan against the Senjus, even less win against Madara. The battle has been another of her father’s scheme to prove Ryuu’s abilities against the rising star of the clan. Nobody had asked her what she thought of it._

_“I don’t look like her anymore.” The calm in her voice was frightening. Ryuu was full of life, ‘the least Uchiha’ they have liked to joke._

_Her mother lost after another miscarriage, the baby alongside her. It had been a boy._

_“It will grow back Ryuu…” he trailed. As a boy he had understood the tradition and had lost his hair a few times. His cousin, even if good, has lost battle before but, as a girl, she never had to cut hers. It seemed the battle have been too much of a humiliation for her father. “Look ! Mine is already past my shoulders again !”_

_He understood that hair was the pride of an Uchiha, even more for their woman but this reaction was too much. There must have been something else._

_“You don’t understand Izuna.”_

_Then she turned toward him. There at the start of her right lips run a jagged cut that stopped a bit before the middle of her cheek. It gave a mouth the form of a distorted smirk. Ugly. So disgusted was Izuna, that it a few moments before his mind registered the red hues of her eyes. Bright like two jewels was her Sharingan._

_‘He did it’ thought Izuna at this moment, amazed. ‘He did it. Without beauty and with a Sharingan, Ryuu **can** become heir.’_

 

 

XxX

 

Eyes closed; Sakura meditated. Her chakra was an inferno in her stomach, its flames licking her organs, too much for such a little body. She wasn’t missing even a percent of it and it continued to grow, Sakura’s chakra slowly diluting it. Ryuu could feel it buzzing under her skin, a sun ready to explode. Slowly she directed it down the maze of her eyes. The pathways almost identic to before but just before touching her eyes, the chakra disappeared. Ryuu checked her reserves, chakra was missing.

 

After one hour and still no result, Ryuu let out a soft sight. Even with a big amount of her chakra missing, there was still too much under her skin. Not thrusting this body but still following her instinct she concentrated of letting a small stream of chakra flowing toward her eyes at all time. There was no difference in her vision or eyes, but she could already feel the star in stomach subside. Less chakra meant more control.

 

Feeling confident with her chakra now under control, she moved her fingers. The hand seals were shaky, her body unable to cooperate with her mind. _Rabbit, Boar, Ram_. Never less, if her body was lacking her chakra instinctively knew what to do. Slowly she felt the thin veil of a genjutsu around her melting into reality.

 

Without the Sharingan, Sakura will never be able to produce illusion as prefect as Ryuu’s. Still, Sakura will have to do with what she had until it was hers again. She had bend reality to her whims before, she will not be stopped by this hindrance. Letting the vision seemingly unchanged, she concentrated instead of the feelings. She felt warmth on her skin, sun or caress she couldn’t tell as she was inside and alone. Softy soft sounds came, not voices, more like the gentle hum in the back of your mind as you walked. Warming your heart, relaxing your furrowed brows. So much stress and tenseness slowly flying with the sounds around you. Then was the heart, so light so free. You could close your eyes and finally breath. As you inhaled you could feel it, deep in your stomach. You’re satisfied, happy will be too much, too strong. Time was slow, and you could never stop breathing in.

 

Never mind if the hum was too high or foreign, a song you never heard before. Never mind that it was winter, you were inside or dying in the cold river, the warmth was all that you needed. You inhaled and you closed your eyes.

 

Ryuu exhaled and the genjutsu broke. A smile painted her scare less face. No, Sakura could never reproduce the perfect image or colors of the Sharingan but it didn’t matter. If you didn’t _want_ to wake up you couldn't leave a Genjustu. Peace, she thought, would make a great genjutsu and Konoha was full of a peace that she could learn to replicate.

 

Closing her eyes again, Ryuu concentrated. She had forgotten the smells.

 

_Rabbit, Boar, Ram._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey how are you doing ? Tell me what you think ! Do you like Ryuu ? What do you think of Sakura ? I tried to slow the pace of the story and make my chapters longer so don't hesitate to tell me what you think ! ^^ Who is your favorite Uchiha ? See you next chapter !


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